Ah, Gen Z are at it again with their silly little trends. Haven’t they got anything better to do?
Yes Linda, we do have better things to do, we just like to come up with a name for them all, ok? No Gen Z bashing here.
But I do have to admit, even as a part of this generation it can be tough to keep up with all the little trends we seem to come up with (or at least reclaim with a new nickname.
While Jeremy Clarkson might say we’re being ‘useless’, we’re often causing controversy with how we approach things like work.
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And now a ‘new’ viral trend is freaking people out on a daily basis.
Barebacking. No, calm down, it’s not as it literally sounds – always use protection, lads.
This term has a far more innocent explanation, and it isn’t too far away from the similarly risqué sounding ‘rawdogging’ that saw flyers travelling long-haul with nothing but their thoughts to pass the time.
Barebacking takes rawdogging underground as young commuters join in with their take on the phenomenon on the way to work.
Pretty much like the sibling to the airplane trend, the term was reportedly coined by podcaster Curtis Morton and essentially means forgoing all tech and entertainment while on public transport.
No phone, no headphones blocking out the sounds of the trains and the public, no book to read, not even a physical newspaper.
But that’s not quite it, the most important part of barebacking is what you actually do to pass the time instead – staring.
Barebackers are supposed to make awkward eye contact with their fellow passengers or even stare out the window as if they’re plotting something pretty evil.
“You’ve commuted enough times,” Morton slammed in a clip.
“Why are you sitting there without a phone, without a book, just looking at me, looking at what’s going on? Just do something!”
And while it seems like an innocent, rather boring way of travelling, some experts reckon it might be an act of rebellion against the uptick in returning to the office.
More companies are now forcing workers to go and work in person for more days a week.
Career coach Amanda Augustine told Fortune that spacing out on transport means workers can reclaim their me time: “Employees are expected to ‘clock in’ once they arrive at the office, not when they board the train.”
As psychotherapist Eloise Skinner added: “Employees may feel they are able to retain a sense of autonomy and control over their working schedule, especially since the commute forms a specific time around which to draw this boundary.”
Jess Battison